Celebrating doing democracy differently
by Dr Millie Rooney, National Coordinator for Australia reMADE
I’ve spent the whole weekend attending an online work-related convention and I should be feeling resentful about being trapped inside at my computer. But the crazy thing is, I’m more excited to be at my desk on a Monday morning than I have been for weeks!
I was at Empowered Communities: Next Steps, the Community Independents Convention and I’m still buzzing.
The event was an opportunity for “community campaigners, 'voices for' and community groups, peak bodies, community independent MPs, candidates seeking what next and all those interested in community engagement and grassroots democracy” to share their experiences and ideas, to celebrate what has been achieved and to think about the next steps.
And GOSH it was interesting! There was a full range of fascinating sessions from those in Parliament, to those who’d only just engaged in capital-P politics for the first time, to those who’ve been playing with campaign ideas for years.
I’ve tried to distill some of what I think were the most interesting lessons to come out of the convention, but first, I want to talk about the vibe…
The vibe
“This is your community and your time to celebrate!” yahooed Jill Briggs, key team member of the Community Independents Project and MC for the event. And with that gorgeous introduction we were off for a weekend of celebration, fun and inclusion.
From that first generous opening, the convention welcomed people in to be a part of the success story. Alongside Cathy McGowan and Zali Steggall’s 2022 co-campaign manager, Tina Jackson, Jill shared campaign success stories and a celebratory video that captured the collective fun everyone had campaigning.
But the stories of success weren’t just for the superstars; the rest of us were invited into breakout rooms to share and listen to our own. To use Australia reMADE language, we were invited to connect with each other, to care for each other (and to be cared for with appreciation) and to claim our space as contributors to the movement.
And gosh it was lovely to hear people’s stories. Tina Jackson said, “It was so much fun!” and how she’d never have believed she’d be saying that about wearing political t-shirts and waving core flutes. I heard people talk about being nervous and being brave and ultimately how much FUN it all was. Again and again people shared their slow political unfurling with delight and surprise and humility.
Cathy McGowan said: "People come to the movement because someone invites you in. Our job is to welcome more people in and share the joy. Letting people know they belong". And gee did we get an invitation that Friday night.
So while it’s rare to be invited in a “serious political space” that begins with an offering of joy, that was just the beginning of what made this event special.
Over the weekend, as I listened to Cathy McGowan chat with Helen Haines and Zali Steggall, as well as the five newly-elected community independent MPs Kate Chaney, Sophie Scamps, Monique Ryan, Kylea Tink and Allegra Spender, what emerged was a refreshing approach to doing politics differently.
While there are certainly party politicians who share elements of the Independents’ approach, what follows are some of my reflections on how these MPs are visibly and explicitly doing things differently and shifting us away from the old and dysfunctional, towards the new and wonderful.
The ‘social compact’
Throughout the convention I kept hearing people talking about the ‘social compact’, often unspoken agreement between the MP and the community.
Zali Steggall knows she was elected to act on climate and doing so is her upholding this compact.
Helen Haines feels a similar expectation about her role in championing an integrity commission and they don’t let her forget it. Even watching the football Helen was accosted by a fan saying, “don’t drop the ball on integrity!” (This coming from a community that ten years ago couldn’t talk about politics feels like a pretty special sort of success to me.)
The newer MPs also spoke of a sense of responsibility and the importance of listening to their communities, and then acting in the collective interest, as a part of the compact that they had made.
But what I loved most about the conversation on the social compact was the way it was viewed as a partnership, with the recognition that the social compact goes two ways. The MPs spoke passionately about listening to their communities and representing them as best they could, but they also very clearly articulated the expectation that the community itself is active.
As Kylea Tink said, “The compact I have is about mutuality. Getting the candidate to Canberra is just the first part. The community's participation in democracy is just beginning… I also expect my community to proactively turn up."
There was a clarity of shared responsibility: the sense that while the MPs expected to be held accountable, they also expected their communities to help them do better.
As Cathy herself reflected, “I became a better politician because my community asked more of me. They said 'this is not enough Cathy', so I said 'come and help me'. And they did!”
And you could see the people at the convention understanding the value of this social compact. Many of the attendees had been volunteers on campaigns. These people were still so excited, felt empowered and expressed their deep commitment to ongoing participation and contribution.
The chat was going off when someone said something like "the word volunteer is not enough. That sounds so directed. I say to my kids ‘I’m off to do my democracy work now’".
What was so reassuring about the discussion on the social compact was that all of these women were talking about their commitment to building the necessary ‘enabling infrastructure’ (remember our work on the public good!?) to facilitate genuine community contribution to democracy. And while it is easy to be concerned that all this goodwill to listen to the community might disappear once the honeymoon period is over, the example set by Cathy McGowan and Helene Haines over more than a decade of listening to the community in Indi means that this wheel does not need reinventing.
Reflection #1:
We’ve come from a place where politicians and their staffers are supposed to be the experts, people who frankly neither really want (nor often deserve) our help and input… beyond perhaps voting and a bit of box-ticking ‘consultation’.
We’re going towards a place where contribution is expected and the infrastructure for community participation and collaboration is provided.
‘Amateur yes people’
After the 2020 Community Independents Convention I discovered my love of ‘amateur yes people’. And in a blog reflecting on the event I wrote:
I felt such joy and aliveness to be with so many ‘amateur yes people’. ‘Amateur’ in that these were mostly people who hadn’t been through the sausage factory of politics, who hadn’t made their way as career politicians or staffers; but who had come together with a sense of responsibility and vision for what this country could be. And ‘yes people’ in that they were eager to have a go, try on new ideas, put their hand up for new ways of doing things. It presented as an attitude, not a qualification.
Wonderfully, this sense is still present. It hasn’t aged, people haven’t become jaded. And I love this. This is powerful.
Recently, I took a class that combined clowning with butoh (a form of Japanese dance). Both art forms are about authentic expression (although one is naturally silly and the other more serious), and both require that you approach with a “beginner’s mindset” — that is, a mindset that is open to possibility. It is a place that requires humility but also a place that is free from rules about how things are always done.
These new independent MPs are smart, make no mistake, but they have the significant advantage of bringing that brave ‘beginner’s mindset’ and being wonderfully brilliant amateur yes people.
Take a recent example where the Independents brought a Matter of Public Importance before the Parliament to discuss the detention of refugees and asylum seekers. Monique Ryan explained that this was actually an unusual thing to do but that,“we didn’t know this was unusual, and that lack of knowledge gave us the freedom to try it”. As it turned out, she was later approached by a party MP who said that it was the first real debate they’d had in Parliament for a decade.
Of course it’s always hard when you’re the first to try something, or the one going out on a limb. But when you get a group who are new together and who share the values of collaboration and self-improvement, there is a collective courage, power and safety that enables new things. And of course these new MPs have the wisdom of Helen Haines et al to draw on. So they are both new and supported by those already there.
Reflection #2:
We’ve come from a place where competition is seen as strength and where inability to admit mistakes is seen as powerful.
We’re going towards a place where cheering each other on, experimenting, trying new things, admitting mistakes and committing to do better is expected, supported and seen as signs of truly great leadership.
Fun
I left the convention thinking, “Ooh! I want to run for Parliament, I want to get to be a part of that fun gang”. Excuse me? Did I actually have a moment where my brain linked Parliament and fun in a wholesome and genuinely enthusiastic way!?
And that, I think, is at the heart of what the community independents do so well. They have fun. You can see it in their celebration video, and in the way they laugh as they talk about the way they campaigned. As Zali noted, it’s too hard to be a politician if you don’t have the community with you having fun.
These (mostly) women are doing things differently: listening, trying new things, failing, apologising and doing better next time and laughing and building each other up as they go.
Can it really be that simple? The idea that politics and community building is serious work — so serious in fact that we better make it fun?
Reflection #3:
We’ve come from a place where fun is an add-on, a campaign photo opp moment or the jelly lolly to lure in volunteer labour, but not something that the ‘important people’ participate in.
We’re going towards a place where fun, celebration and joyful expression are at the heart of not only the country we’re trying to create, but woven through the very process of creating it. Fun is no longer seen as some kind of ‘that’s nice’ accessory; rather it’s valued as being an essential fuel for doing democracy differently.
Doing democracy for the public good
The issues facing the world right now are as huge as they are critical. Already in Australia thousands are struggling with the ongoing impact of climate disasters and things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. We need strong, articulate, compassionate leaders who can not only act with us to steer towards a thriving future, but who will show us that the path we need to take is itself a good one. We need confidence that the journey is at least going to be half as good as the destination.
There are unique opportunities and unique challenges facing Community Independents, but their way of doing politics could (and perhaps should) be universal. There is arguably nothing to stop anyone from any of the parties learning these lessons. Of course, some party politicians are already doing some of this, but imagine if all our leaders – from the Parliament, to our schools, our businesses and homes – imagine if all our leaders embraced collaboration, the humble and creative beginners’ mindset, and the importance of both fun and the social compact.
Oh what a world we could have.